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Monday, August 1, 2011

Local, State, and National News!

We usually reserve Mondays for local news alone, but with the surplus of interesting news articles waiting to be shared, we have state and national stories today too! Find out what's happening...

...At the local levelMany girls in Oregon receive little exposure to the building trades. An article from the Daily Journal of Commerce tells about a summer camp in Portland that aims to change that. Attendees of the Building Girls summer camp learned basics and had hands-on experiences in carpentry, tiling, painting, and welding. They also took field trips to several industry training centers. The camp had four free sessions this year -- two at Mount Hood Community College, and two at the University of Portland. Learn more about the camp in the full story.

...StatewideThe Oregon wine industry nearly doubled in size from 2005 to 2010, reaching $2.7 billion. This key finding comes from a recently-released report by California-based Full Glass Research on the industry's direct and indirect economic impacts. According to an article from The Oregonian, the study establishes Oregon's wine-grape crop as the state's leading value-added agricultural segment. The report found that sales nationwide increased by 94 percent over the five-year period examined. Get more details from The Oregonian or the full report.

...NationallyU.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced recently that Oregon has been selected as one of four Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas. The program aims to expand the availability of non-food crops to be used in the manufacturing of liquid biofuels. The Oregonian reports that Oregon will receive about $17 million for cultivating poplar trees for cellulosic biofuel near Boardman. Another $1.6 million is expected to go toward producing camelina, an oil seed ideal for jet fuel.

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Welcome to the Oregon Employment blog, brought to you by the Research Division of the Oregon Employment Department. We love studying the economy, helping the public, and using numbers all day long! Feel free to ask questions and leave comments because we're here to help!